CASE SUMMARY

On February 7, 2022, two Native American tribes filed a federal lawsuit against North Dakota's Secretary of State challenging the state's enacted legislative plan as violating the federal Voting Rights Act. The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the Spirit Lake Tribe both allege that the enacted plan violates Section 2 of the VRA because it dilutes the voting strength of voters in their reservations by "packing" and "cracking" them, reducing the number of state House districts in which Native American voters have the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice from two to one. They are seeking a declaratory judgment that the enacted legislative plan violates the Voting Rights Act, a preliminary and permanent injunction barring the defendants from using the plan in future elections, a court order establishing a deadline by which the state must enact a new, lawful plan, and for the court to order the adoption of its own plan in the event the state fails to do so.

Similar Case: Walen v. Burgum

CASE LIBRARY

U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota, Eastern Division - No. 3:22-cv-22

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - No. 23-1597

United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit - No. 23-1600 (In Re: North Dakota Legislative Assembly, et al)